A Stegosaurus FossilPurchased by billionaire Kenneth Griffin for $44.6 million, it will be displayed on American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York. The four-year loan makes the museum the first institution to exhibit dinosaurs. People will be able to see the fossil from Sunday.
The Stegosaurus, nicknamed Apex, broke auction records when it sold at Sotheby’s this summer, surpassing the previous Tyrannosaurus Rex record. The sale raised concerns among paleontologists about museums being outbid by private collectors. Griffin said after the purchase that he would loan the fossil to an American institution for public and scientific access.
“I am grateful that millions of visitors and researchers will now be able to see and learn about this magnificent specimen from the late Jurassic period,” Griffin told the New York Times.
The loan includes funding for research and documentation, such as 3D scans of the bones, which AMNH plans to share with researchers.
However, the reaction of the scientific community to these plans remains unclear. Some paleontologists have previously expressed concern about conducting research on privately owned specimens due to uncertain future access.
“This is a new gray area for us,” said Stuart Sumida, president of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology, whose ethics committee is reviewing the issue and will issue a recommendation in early spring.
AMNH President Sean M. Decatur highlighted the public appeal and scientific value of Stegosaurus. “It’s one of those dinosaurs that every kid knows how to draw,” Decatur said. “It’s a unique opportunity to get something together that, I think, really resonates in the public imagination about dinosaurs, but also from a research standpoint, it’s a really pretty unique specimen to understand.”
A nearly complete fossil discovered in 2022 in Colorado is about 11 feet tall and more than 20 feet long. Museum curator Roger Benson plans to study the dinosaur’s femur to learn about Stegosaurus growth and biology. AMNH will also make a replica cast for display after the loan ends.
Benson emphasized the importance of data sharing. “I didn’t think we could do this project if we weren’t able to make the 3D data available to researchers,” he said, adding that the museum has a “stated commitment” from Griffin to continued researcher access to the specimen.